


Closing a Circle

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Het, Rare Pair, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 12:29:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6704617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin Stein returns to STAR Labs with a mission of his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closing a Circle

"Caitlin?"

She startled when she heard the soft voice behind her, wiped her eyes with her back of her hand but didn't turn around. Of all the people she'd expected to come after her, he hadn't been anywhere near the list. 

"I'm fine, Professor," she says, hoping that will be enough to stave him off, to have him turning on his heel and heading back to the Cortex where most of Team Flash are waiting for her. 

She hears him take a step towards her and closes her eyes because she should have know better - she did know better. "Forgive me, my dear," he says, appearing at her shoulder and producing a perfectly white, pressed, linen handkerchief, " but if I may say? You appear to be quite some considerable distance from fine." 

His candour surprises a laugh out of her and she shakes her head as she accepts his offer of the handkerchief. "I just needed a moment," she tells him quietly and when she chances a glance at him, she sees understanding in his eyes. 

"I expect my return has been hard for you," he says and she closes her eyes then, memories of Ronnie stealing up her throat, threatening to choke her. "But you must understand, Caitlin... the last thing I wanted to do was ruin your special day." She opens her eyes then, more in confusion than anything because she doesn't understand what he means. To her surprise, there's suddenly a look on his face rather like a deer in headlights, like he's said something that he shouldn't have said. 

"My special day?" she echoes. "What's special about..." Her throat closes again before she can get the question out, this time images of a meta human attack that had only been thwarted by Firestorm appearing out of nowhere but not before Joe had been injured. The sight of him lying there, bleeding and unconscious remains seared on inside of her eyelids where she sees it every time she so much as blinks and her throat is raw from the scream she knows she uttered. 

Professor Stein presses his lips into a thin white line and she can see him struggling to make a decision, can see when he makes it too. "At the risk of offending my Lord and Time Master..." That's said with an ironic lilt to his voice and a twist to his lips that she doesn't pretend to understand but it makes her smile. "My arrival here is no accident. I believe it's called 'closing a circle.' Put simply -" He spreads his hands wide. "I am here because I have already been here."

Caitlin stares at him, pinches the bridge of her nose. This is why she doesn't watch time travel movies with Cisco any more ; the headache just isn't worth it. Still, if he's saying what she thinks he's saying... her head spins and her stomach flips and she has to fight to catch her breath. "Professor... I don't know what you think you know..."

"It's not what I know, Caitlin... but rather what I saw." His voice is perfectly calm and unruffled. "A picture. Of you, wearing that very dress. Of Detective West, looking slightly the worse for wear, it must be said, but perfectly able to consent. And me, in between the two of you." That same small smile that she'd so rarely seen around STAR Labs plays around his lips. "I  was surprised at first, I must admit, but then, I did have the honour of officiating at your first wedding, after all... it appears to be, as the kids say, our 'thing.'"

Caitlin laughs, partly in shock, partly in amusement at the idea of getting married in this outfit. It's a nice dress, sure, but it's also purple and after the last few hours, it's hardly fit for purpose - any purpose. A glance down confirms that there are several creases in the skirt and along the hem are what looks very much like bloodstains. Where and from whence they came makes her head spin and there's a faint buzzing in her ears that threatens to become a roar unless she pulls herself together. "I'm not getting married today," she hears herself say, as if from very far away. But even as she does, she remembers what it felt like to see Joe lying there, not knowing whether he was dead or alive but knowing with bone deep certainty that she didn't want to lose him. 

Professor Stein tilts his head. "I beg to differ," he says. "Who knows, perhaps it may be that my mere presence here, coupled with my inadvertent slip of the tongue is actually what set-" He stops, purses his lips. "-Will set? The wheels in motion. Either way..." He lifts his arms up, palms out flat and facing the ceiling, shrugs exaggeratedly with a grin on his face that he doesn't even try to hide. 

Caitlin opens her mouth to say something but whatever it was flies straight out of her head when she hears someone else say her name. Her head whips around to the door and a sob bursts from her throat when she sees Joe standing there.  Standing is rather a strong word, she amends quickly; he's more leaning against the doorframe, gripping it tightly with his right hand. He should still be in bed, she knows, and it's on the tip of her tongue to be Doctor Snow, to harangue and argue with him about it. 

Instead, she crosses the room to him without a word, slides her arms around his waist ever so gently and buries her head in his chest. 

His breath leaves him in a rush, ruffling her hair and his arms wrap tightly around her shoulders, holding her close. 

She's dimly aware of Stein's footsteps as he leaves the room, but she doesn't lift her head, doesn't know how long she and Joe just stand there like that. "Please," she whispers eventually, "don't ever scare me like that again."

Joe chuckles with no real humour. "I'll see what I can do," he promises. Then, a moment later, quieter, "I thought I'd run out of lives there."

So had she and the thought makes her shudder,  makes her pull back and look up at him. He's slightly hazy to her gaze but she sees him frown, feels the warmth of his hands when he reaches up and cups her face. 

"Hey," he says. "It's ok... I'm ok."

She nods, moves her hands so that they run down his chest, just checking for herself, just to make sure. Then she looks up into his eyes and says something that she's only just realised she wants to say. 

"There's something I want to ask you."

Turns out Professor Stein was right all along. Joe is perfectly able to consent and the purple dress with blood stains on the hem does turn out to be Caitlin's wedding dress and, somehow, she wouldn't change a thing. 


End file.
